At Girls Camp in our stake, the older girls, (5th and 6th years), are what we call Junior Leaders. This was my first year as one and it was the best girls camp experience I've ever had! Basically we were in charge of helping out the stake staff and getting the girls excited, as well as certifying them. We were assigned individual younger girls to look after, (for a day anyway), and we were in charge of leading everyone in camp songs to start off flag ceremony and devotionals.
This year our camp theme was "Anchored in Christ" and everything we did was themed around the ocean. All the girls received white sailor hats that they wrote their names on. The Junior Leaders had pretty nifty captain hats that set us apart from everyone else. I wore my hat all week long and only took it off for prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and sleeping.
When I got home I started to think about what that hat really meant. When I took it off, I looked like everyone else, and for the most part I behaved like everyone else. But once I put it on, all those younger girls were looking up to me. I remember being a little Beehive, watching those older girls and being almost in awe of them. So at camp, when I was wearing my hat, I made an effort to reach out to those younger girls. To say hi and smile at everyone I passed, to include them, try to get them excited. At the beginning of the week, there were two girls I was assigned to that obviously didn't care much for the activities we did; in fact, they were almost rude about it. Instead of getting angry, my best friend Cambree and I were super friendly to them, almost to the point of annoying them. We said hello every time we saw them, called them out during camp songs, sat next to them during crafts. And what do you know, by the end of the week they were greeting us.
I don't know that I would have done that in any other setting. Most likely I would've been annoyed and upset at their lack of respect. But as a Junior Leader it was my job to represent our stake leaders, and ultimately the Savior. It was my job to love everyone, to reach out to them and to include them, and so I did all week. And it was one of the best weeks of my life.
Then I came home, took a shower, and off came the dirt, my week-old clothes, and my hat. I didn't represent anyone anymore, I was just Kiersten. Or so I thought.
As I've thought more and more about camp, I've come to realize that there are always people watching. As members of the church, we represent our leaders, our church as a whole, and Christ. We are representatives of the Lord at all times, but do we always act like it? Heaven knows I don't. People look up to us, and because of that it is our job to include them, to excite them, to be friendly to them, to greet them, and to love them. I'm certainly not perfect at that, but I can be better. That's my goal for the coming school year, which starts this Tuesday. To be a representative of Christ.
Who (or what) do you represent?
This year our camp theme was "Anchored in Christ" and everything we did was themed around the ocean. All the girls received white sailor hats that they wrote their names on. The Junior Leaders had pretty nifty captain hats that set us apart from everyone else. I wore my hat all week long and only took it off for prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and sleeping.
When I got home I started to think about what that hat really meant. When I took it off, I looked like everyone else, and for the most part I behaved like everyone else. But once I put it on, all those younger girls were looking up to me. I remember being a little Beehive, watching those older girls and being almost in awe of them. So at camp, when I was wearing my hat, I made an effort to reach out to those younger girls. To say hi and smile at everyone I passed, to include them, try to get them excited. At the beginning of the week, there were two girls I was assigned to that obviously didn't care much for the activities we did; in fact, they were almost rude about it. Instead of getting angry, my best friend Cambree and I were super friendly to them, almost to the point of annoying them. We said hello every time we saw them, called them out during camp songs, sat next to them during crafts. And what do you know, by the end of the week they were greeting us.
I don't know that I would have done that in any other setting. Most likely I would've been annoyed and upset at their lack of respect. But as a Junior Leader it was my job to represent our stake leaders, and ultimately the Savior. It was my job to love everyone, to reach out to them and to include them, and so I did all week. And it was one of the best weeks of my life.
Then I came home, took a shower, and off came the dirt, my week-old clothes, and my hat. I didn't represent anyone anymore, I was just Kiersten. Or so I thought.
As I've thought more and more about camp, I've come to realize that there are always people watching. As members of the church, we represent our leaders, our church as a whole, and Christ. We are representatives of the Lord at all times, but do we always act like it? Heaven knows I don't. People look up to us, and because of that it is our job to include them, to excite them, to be friendly to them, to greet them, and to love them. I'm certainly not perfect at that, but I can be better. That's my goal for the coming school year, which starts this Tuesday. To be a representative of Christ.
Who (or what) do you represent?
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